ABSTRACT

Our aim is to analyse Tarlov cysts according to their size, localization and bone destruction.

We inspected the lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) datas of 68 patients for one year from the radiology database retrospectively. We excluded the patients with lumbar malignities such as tumors and developmental anomalies.

The mean age of the participants was 52.2±13.7 years, and 72.1% of the population were females. Most frequently involved vertebrae were S2. Ratio is 26.5% of the patients with multiple Tarlov cysts. Mean diameter of the cysts was 11.8±7.7 mm. Destruction was present in 44.1% of the cases. When the characteristics of patients were compared between males and females mean age (p=0.262), cyst size (p=0.307), distribution of involved vertebrae (p>0.05 for all levels), number of cysts (p=0.063), and destruction pattern (p=0.195) were all-similar between genders.

Tarlov cysts are usually asymptomatic and are found incidentally during radiodiagnostic examinations so that they do not treated with surgery till compression symptoms occur.